--- title: Dancing with the Stars: Rumer Willis Talks Mirror Ball Trophy description: The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore explains why she thinks she'll win the 20th season of "Dancing with the Stars" canonical: https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-16T16:37:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:16:33.735Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Dancing with the Stars: Rumer Willis Talks Mirror Ball Trophy og:description: The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore explains why she thinks she'll win the 20th season of "Dancing with the Stars" og:url: https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd248f0655461bc/698783885f570f04b4b15bc2/dancingwiththestars_bios_rumer_willis_138515_2885-400x600.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: RUMER WILLIS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dancing with the Stars: Rumer Willis Talks Mirror Ball Trophy twitter:description: The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore explains why she thinks she'll win the 20th season of "Dancing with the Stars" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd248f0655461bc/698783885f570f04b4b15bc2/dancingwiththestars_bios_rumer_willis_138515_2885-400x600.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rumer Willis Is Determined to Win the Mirror Ball on _Dancing with the Stars_ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Mar 16, 2015 4:37 PM UTC  DANCING WITH THE STARS - RUMER WILLIS - The 10th anniversary celebrity cast of "Dancing with the Stars" is strapping on their ballroom shoes and getting ready for their first dance on MONDAY, MARCH 16 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Rumer Willis is partnered with Valentin Chmerkovskiy. (ABC/Craig Sjodin) DANCING WITH THE STARS - RUMER WILLIS - The 10th anniversary celebrity cast of "Dancing with the Stars" is strapping on their ballroom shoes and getting ready for their first dance on MONDAY, MARCH 16 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Rumer Willis is partnered with Valentin Chmerkovskiy. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)Craig Sjodin—ABC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Mar 16, 2015 4:37 PM UTC Rumer Willis had her doubts about being on _Dancing with the Stars,_ but things have certainly changed. The show’s 20th season kicks off Monday on ABC at 8/7c, and the 26-year old daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore is joining a cast that includes Patti LaBelle; LMFAO’s Redfoo; Michael Sam; actress Suzanne Somers; and Willow Shields, best known as Primrose Everdeen from _The Hunger Games_ movies. “When \[the producers\] asked me a few years ago, I didn’t think it was something I would even be capable of,” Willis said in an interview with TIME. “But I’ve been doing a show called _For the Record_ and I’ve been dancing a little bit more, so when they asked me this year, I thought, ‘What an incredible opportunity to learn how to dance properly from a great teacher.’” Her new teacher and partner is Val Chmerkovskiy who will show Willis the ropes of the foxtrot, pasodobles, salsa and more during the show’s 20th season. He’s also exactly who Willis hoped to be partnered with when she signed up for the show. “I think he’s one of the strongest competitors and the best teacher, so I couldn’t be happier,” she says. While Chmerkovskiy has been a fixture on the show for the last seven seasons, he has never won the show’s coveted Mirror Ball trophy. He has come close several times, though, including last season where he reached the finals with his partner actress Janel Parrish, best known for _Pretty Little Liars_. Willis thinks this year is his year, though. “I think we can do it.“I think we have it in the bag if we work hard and put as much passion as we have into our dances, we’ll be fine,” Willis says. Before she can figure out where to put that trophy in her house (she plans to move it from room to room), she has round after round of competition to get through. That means spending hours in the rehearsal studio with Chmerkovskiy, who has a reputation for pushing his partners to their breaking point. Willis thinks that reputation is a bit undeserved, though. “So far, he’s been an incredible teacher and so patient. I think sometimes that the passion that he has for dance and making his partner great can be taken as harshness, when it’s really just dedication,” she says. “To be honest, I put more pressure on myself than Val could ever put on me.” Rumors tend to follow Chmerkovskiy off the dance floor, too, where his on-screen chemistry with his partners leads to rumors of off-screen romance. Despite the fact that the show hasn’t even started yet, Willis has already run into this during press conferences. “I feel like people give him a bad rap,” she says. “People misconstrue someone having dedication and an emotional bond with their partner for something else. I didn’t sign up to be on _Dating with the Stars_. If I wanted to find a boyfriend I would do that on my own time.” Chmerkovskiy recently put to rest rumors that he wooed his partners as a ploy for votes. “The last thing I would do for votes, ladies and gentlemen, is play with my partner’s emotions, or with your emotions,” [he said](https://youtu.be/hSOKl8hlJyA) during a Q & A session. “The votes are important to me …the performance is more important.” While Willis is confident that she and Chmerkovskiy can bring home the trophy, she won’t be able to do it without votes from fans. To help rally the troops, her famous parents will be on hand to support her from the audience. “Everyone has been really supportive,” says Willis, “and I can’t wait to get on the dance floor.” _Dancing with the Stars_ airs on ABC tonight at 8/7c. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/"},"headline":"Rumer Willis Is Determined to Win the Mirror Ball on Dancing with the Stars","datePublished":"2015-03-16T16:37:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:16:33.735Z","description":"Rumer Willis talks Val, Mirror Balls, and all those pesky rumors","url":"https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/","keywords":["Television","Dancing with the Stars","DWTS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd248f0655461bc/698783885f570f04b4b15bc2/dancingwiththestars_bios_rumer_willis_138515_2885-400x600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd248f0655461bc/698783885f570f04b4b15bc2/dancingwiththestars_bios_rumer_willis_138515_2885-400x600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"RUMER WILLIS","caption":"RUMER WILLIS","creditText":"Craig Sjodin—ABC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3744089/dancing-with-the-stars-rumer-willis/","name":"Rumer Willis Is Determined to Win the Mirror Ball on Dancing with the Stars"}}]}] ```